CVE-2020-1948 in Dubbo
Summary
by MITRE
This vulnerability can affect all Dubbo users stay on version 2.7.6 or lower. An attacker can send RPC requests with unrecognized service name or method name along with some malicious parameter payloads. When the malicious parameter is deserialized, it will execute some malicious code. More details can be found below.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/15/2020
The CVE-2020-1948 vulnerability represents a critical remote code execution flaw in Apache Dubbo versions 2.7.6 and earlier, affecting organizations that rely on this popular Java RPC framework for distributed system communication. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation during the deserialization process of RPC requests, creating a pathway for attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. The flaw specifically targets the framework's handling of unrecognized service names and method names, which are processed without adequate sanitization of parameters that may contain malicious payloads.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker crafts RPC requests containing malformed service names or method references along with specially crafted parameter data. When the Dubbo framework attempts to deserialize these parameters during request processing, the malicious code embedded within the serialized objects executes within the context of the running application server. This deserialization flaw leverages the framework's trust in incoming RPC data without proper validation of the parameter structure or content, creating an attack surface where remote code execution becomes possible through seemingly legitimate RPC communication channels.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risk to organizations using Dubbo in production environments, particularly those with exposed RPC endpoints or insufficient network segmentation. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, making it particularly dangerous for systems that are publicly accessible or have weak access controls. Attackers can leverage this flaw to gain full control over affected systems, potentially leading to data breaches, system compromise, and lateral movement within network environments. The vulnerability affects the core RPC processing functionality of Dubbo, making it difficult to mitigate without upgrading the framework version or implementing comprehensive input validation measures.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-502, which describes deserialization of untrusted data as a common weakness in software systems. The attack pattern follows typical remote code execution vectors described in MITRE ATT&CK framework under technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter. Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Dubbo version 2.7.7 or later, where this vulnerability has been addressed through enhanced input validation and improved parameter sanitization. Additional mitigations include implementing network-level restrictions on RPC endpoints, deploying application firewalls, and conducting thorough code reviews to identify potential deserialization vulnerabilities in other components of the system architecture.